The Russian football team’s unlikely advance to the World Cup quarterfinals this summer has propelled it to the top-50 of FIFA’s latest rankings since Russia hosted the championship.
Russia had its World Cup dream cut short on July 8, when Croatia won 4-3 on penalties in a dramatic quarterfinal that ended 2-2 after extra time. Russia entered the tournament as the worst-ranked side, at a historic-low 70th place.
Russia’s performance helped the team catapult 21 spots to 49th, making it the biggest move by ranks, according to FIFA’s updated table on Thursday.
2018 World Cup champion France was the biggest points-based mover as it landed the top spot of the table, overtaking Germany which dropped to 15th place. Belgium and Brazil ranked second and third, while finalist Croatia and Uruguay closed out the top-5.
FIFA said it changed the algorithm of its rating system to account for inactive teams and losses or draws against weaker opposition.
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